The Witness
by Pt29646
Summary: In this prequel, Ben loses track of his four-year-old son, Adam. Where did the boy go and what did he see?


He kept absolutely still as the footsteps grew louder. A soft voice in whispered in his ear, "He knows you're here. Pretend to be dead or you will be." A spasm of fear shook him, and he fell to the ground. His pursuer heard the soft thud, and found his quarry a few seconds later. He bent close and detected no breath. The only witness was dead. Heaving a sigh of relief, he stood up and slipped away.

...

"Now don't worry, Ben," Sheriff Hicks said. "The boy knows he's in trouble and he's hiding from you."

Ben Cartwright shook his head. "Adam would never do that. He's a good little fellow, and he knows..." His voice trembled and he stopped speaking.

The Sheriff felt sorry for the young man. He knew the struggle Ben had to provide for his little boy, and to try to be both father and mother to him. He had to admit he was a little surprised that the child was missing. Although he was only four, little Adam was mature for his age, showing a thoughtfulness for others many adults would do well to emulate.

Hicks stood and picked up his hat. "Let's go back to the saloon and walk through it. Maybe that will give us an idea of where to find your boy." As they walked down the street, the sheriff asked, "You and your boy live over the saloon?"

Ben nodded. "Hank lets the attic to me and Adam. It was better for him to be close to me while I'm at work, and the girls feel safer with a man on the premises all the time."

"Is anyone angry with you, Ben? Anyone mean enough to take your boy when you weren't looking?"

Ben thought for a moment. He'd had to toss out a couple of drunks for being rough with Lola and Sherry, but they hadn't made any threats. He shook his head. "I don't know anyone that mean."

Hicks shook his head. "The thing is, Ben, you probably do."

...

 **.**  
Hank was waiting when Ben and the Sheriff arrived at the saloon. "Any sign of Adam, Ben?"

Ben shook his head. He couldn't trust himself to speak.

Hank nodded. "Well, Sherry and Lola are changing and we're going to help you search. We'll find your boy, Ben."

There were footsteps and the men looked up as two young women came downstairs dressed in boys' trousers and shirts. With their hair down, their faces clean of paint, and no jewelry, they were barely recognizable as the saloon's hostesses.

"What were you all doing the last time you saw Adam?" asked Sheriff Hicks.

The girls exchanged a glance and then Sherry said, "We were entertaining some of the hands from the Shiloh ranch. Today was payday, and they wanted to celebrate."

Hank said, "They were in my view the whole time. I was tending bar."

Ben thought for a moment. "I tended bar, and then I took a tray and picked up the empties. I set it down to wipe a table, and Adam came up behind me. He knocked the tray, and it fell. The mugs and glasses broke, and I caught him up to keep him from stepping on the broken glass." Ben looked ashamed. "I set him down on a stool at the bar, and told him to stay out of my way."

Everyone was silent until Hicks asked, "What happened next?"

Hank cleared his throat, "Well, Adam watched his pa sweep up the mess, and then he hopped down off the stool and headed for the back. I thought he was going upstairs to wait for Ben, but I found the back door open when I was checking the windows and doors at closing."

"So the boy probably went out that way?" Hicks said. "Well, that's where we'll start looking."

The small group lit lanterns, and Hank unbolted the door. They stepped outside into a muddy alley. Hicks squatted down. "Yep, I see some little prints here." They followed them down the alley until they came to the body of a woman.

Hicks held the lantern close to her face, and the others flinched. The woman's face was purple and her eyes bulged in their sockets while her tongue stuck out of her mouth. "Strangled," Hicks decided. "Why, she just came in on today's stage. Who'd want to kill her?"

Ben examined the mud around the woman. He could see his son's footprints along with others that must have belonged to the dead woman and her murderer. "Adam must have found her, and been frightened." He straightened up and called, "Adam! Adam! It's your Pa, son. Everything's all right."

They listened but there was no answer. Two sets of prints led away from the woman's body. Hicks looked at Adam's. "He may have seen more than a dead body, Ben. Look here – he was running...and someone followed him."

Ben felt a chill run down his back. He and the others moved quickly, retracing Adam's steps until they came to the ruins of an old cabin. The roof had fallen in, and the Sheriff opened the door cautiously. He stepped inside and held up his lantern. In its harsh light he saw the tip of a tiny toe. Dreading what he might find, he said, "Wait here," and stepped inside. Ben ignored his order, and followed.

Adam lay on the floor, pale and still. Ben froze for a moment, unable to breathe while Hicks bent over his boy. After a second, the sheriff gave a sigh of relief. "He's alive, Ben." He took Ben's lantern, and Ben lifted his son in his arms. He cradled the little body, and carried him out, murmuring softly in his ear, "It's all right, son. You're safe – your Pa's got you."

Sherry and Lola returned to the saloon with Ben and Adam while Hank went for the doctor. Sheriff Hicks stood guard over the body until Doc Thornton came. He took one look and glared at Hicks. "She's dead. What do you expect me to do?"

The sheriff sighed. "She was murdered. She came in on today's stage, and I'd like to know why someone would kill her."

Thornton let out a deep sigh. "Well, I can't tell much here. Get someone to help you take her over to my office. I need to see to Cartwright's boy."

"Yeah…um…Doc, we know he saw the body. He may have seen more."

The doctor stared at the sheriff, understanding what he didn't say. "Good to know." He picked up his bag and went towards the saloon.  
He found Ben sitting beside Adam. Sherry made coffee for them while Lola heated some water for the doctor. "How long has he been like this?" Doc asked.

"He was this way when we found him," Ben said. "I thought he was dead, but…" His voice broke, and he stopped to pull himself together. He took a deep breath. "I was getting ready to bathe him and put him to bed."

The doctor checked Adam's pulse, pulled his lids back, and looked at his eyes. Then he put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "It's a deep faint, Ben. Likely the child saw something terrible, and it was more than he could stand. Just stay with him, talk to him – he'll hear you at some level. Reassure him that he's safe." He left, and Sherry came to Ben's side. "Me and Lola can help, Ben. You know we think the world of Adam."

"I know," Ben said, "and I appreciate it, but I'll stay with him." Lola brought in a pan of warm water then, and she and Sherry left Ben and Adam alone.

Ben undressed his son gently, and bathed him, marveling at his tiny perfection. _Oh, Elizabeth,_ he thought, _I almost lost your final gift to me. Forgive me, my love._

When Adam was clean and dry, Ben put his nightshirt on him, and laid him in the bed. He sat and watched the boy, and felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. Suddenly he felt a light hand on his shoulder, and heard Elizabeth's soft voice in his ear, "You're a wonderful father, Ben. Don't reproach yourself."

"Liz?" Ben whispered. He looked around. He and Adam were alone, but he felt Elizabeth's warmth and love, and knew she was present, knew she was watching over them.

Adam's eyelids fluttered, and Ben bent over him. "Pa?"

Ben scooped him up and held him in his lap. "My boy, my boy," he murmured over and over. "You're safe. Pa's got you."

Adam cuddled close, and Ben held him. There was a tap on the door, and Ben looked up as Sheriff Hicks came in. "Hello, Ben. I just wanted to check on the boy – make sure he was all right."

The Sheriff stood over them, and looked down into Adam's wide hazel eyes. "Son, can you tell me what you saw tonight?"

Adam looked at his feet, and Ben held him closer. "It's all right, Adam. You're safe, and Pa's not angry. Tell the sheriff what you saw."

"I thought I heard a kitty in the alley, and I went outside. There was a lady, and a man was bending over her. Then he let go, and she fell down. I went to see if I could help her, but her face was purple and her eyes –" Adam shuddered, and Ben whispered, "it's all right, son, it's over. You're safe."

Adam took a sobbing breath and went on. "I was looking at her when the man came back, and I ran. He came after me, and I ran inside the cabin but there wasn't a good hiding place and a lady told me to play dead but I was scared, Pa, I was so scared…" Adam's voice faded into sobs. Ben held his son and rocked him.

Hicks hated what he had to do, but he kept on. "Adam, did you know the man who came after you?"

Adam nodded. "I've seen him in here. He's always been real nice – he's a friend of Pa's."

Ben's blood ran cold. "Who was it, Adam?" he asked, careful to keep his voice calm and low.

Adam pulled away and looked up at Ben. "It was Mr. Daggett, Pa."

"Abram Daggett? The lawyer? But he just married-" Ben began, but Hicks put a hand on his shoulder, and he stopped.

Hicks shook his head. "It makes sense, Ben." He ruffled Adam's hair and stood up. "You rest easy, both of you." He left, and Ben put Adam down to bed.

The next day it was all over town how Lawyer Daggett had murdered his pregnant mistress behind the saloon. Great sympathy was professed for his bride, and his trial and subsequent hanging were well attended. Everything seemed normal, but Sheriff Hicks had a question for little Adam Cartwright.

One Sunday afternoon weeks later he had a chance to ask the boy about it. "Adam, do you remember telling me about a lady who told you to play dead one time?"

Adam was sitting on the floor, playing with a Noah's Ark that Hank, Sherry, and Lola had made for him. He was pairing up the animals and barely looked up at the Sheriff as he answered, "Yessir."

"Do you know who she was?"

Adam put down a pair of horses, and stood up. He went over to the Sheriff and put a small hand on his knee. "It was Mother. Pa says she's in heaven, but she's always watching over me, over us." He went back to his toys, and the Sheriff looked at him. _Well, it makes as much sense as anything else,_ he thought.


End file.
